Public School Forum of North Carolina Urges Congress to Protect Young Immigrants Affected by Decision to End DACA

Oct 18, 2017

RALEIGH, NC (October 18, 2017) – In a statement released today, the Board of Directors of the Public School Forum of North Carolina said the decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was wrong and urged Congress to pursue a path toward permanent legal status for the more than 800,000 young immigrants brought to the United States as infants.

The full statement was adopted last week at a meeting of the Board of Directors and focuses on the organization’s commitment to educational opportunity for all North Carolina children:

“North Carolina’s public schools are expected to be safe, welcoming and inclusive, with doors open to all children, regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, immigration status, or other protected status. We believe the recent decision by the President to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will lessen opportunities for some immigrant children to reach their full potential and contribute to our state’s vitality. This action will damage our schools, communities and economy, limiting the ability of these children to pursue education and training necessary to prepare them to contribute to our state’s workforce and prosperity. Rescinding DACA thrusts innocent children and young adults into an abyss of trepidation and uncertainty, fearing deportation as they walk our streets or pass through our schoolhouse doors.”

Keith Poston, the president and executive director of the Public School Forum of North Carolina, said, “The Public School Forum of North Carolina believes in educational opportunity for ALL children—we don’t caveat it based on immigration status.”

“We’re encouraged that North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis is providing leadership in finding a legislative solution to protect these young people,” Poston added.

The full statement is below. The Public School Forum is sending the statement this week to each member of North Carolina’s congressional delegation.

About the Public School Forum of North Carolina

The Public School Forum of North Carolina is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on improving educational outcomes for all North Carolina children. Since 1986, the Forum has been an indispensable and nonpartisan champion of better schools and the most trusted source in the state for research and analysis on vital education issues. We bring together leaders from business, education and government to study education issues, develop ideas, seek consensus, and ultimately inform and shape education policy. We do that through research, policy work, innovative programs, advocacy, and continuing education for educators and policymakers. Follow us on Twitter @theNCForum and visit our website at http://www.ncforum.org/

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Statement on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Policy

The Public School Forum of North Carolina’s Vision Statement espouses the belief that all of our state’s children shall have the opportunity to reach their full potential through equal and meaningful public education that nourishes our state’s civic and economic vitality. A child’s immigration status should not be a factor that impedes their educational opportunity. In fact, this has been the law of the land in the United States since 1982, as the Supreme Court unequivocally declared in Plyler v. Doe.

North Carolina’s public schools are expected to be safe, welcoming and inclusive, with doors open to all children, regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, immigration status, or other protected status. We believe the recent decision by the President to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will lessen opportunities for some immigrant children to reach their full potential and contribute to our state’s vitality. This action will damage our schools, communities and economy, limiting the ability of these children to pursue education and training necessary to prepare them to contribute to our state’s workforce and prosperity. Rescinding DACA thrusts innocent children and young adults into an abyss of trepidation and uncertainty, fearing deportation as they walk our streets or pass through our schoolhouse doors.

We believe it was wrong to rescind DACA protections and we urge Congress to pursue a solution such as the DREAM Act or similar federal legislation for all “DREAMers,” providing a step-by-step path toward permanent legal status. This path should include efforts to fully incorporate all “DREAMers” into our communities, affording them robust opportunities to become meaningful contributors to our workforce, our economy and our democracy.

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Adopted by the Public School Forum’s Board of Directors on October 10, 2017.
Michael D. Priddy, Ed.D., Chairman, Board of Directors
H. Keith Poston, President & Executive Director